Montage: Twitter, media denied existence of censorship, ‘shadow banning’ on social media platform
Members of the media and Twitter employees repeatedly refuted the idea that the tech platform engaged in shadow banning and disproportionate censorship aimed at conservatives.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey maintained his stance that there was never any political motivation behind his company's decisions even after the damning revelations from the "Twitter Files" released by his successor Elon Musk.
"There’s a lot of conversation around the #TwitterFiles. Here’s my take, and thoughts on how to fix the issues identified," Dorsey began his newsletter on Tuesday. "I’ll start with the principles I’ve come to believe… based on everything I’ve learned and experienced through my past actions as a Twitter co-founder and lead: Social media must be resilient to corporate and government control. Only the original author may remove content they produce. Moderation is best implemented by algorithmic choice."
"The Twitter when I led it and the Twitter of today do not meet any of these principles," Dorsey admitted. "This is my fault alone, as I completely gave up pushing for them when an activist entered our stock in 2020. I no longer had hope of achieving any of it as a public company with no defense mechanisms... I planned my exit at that moment knowing I was no longer right for the company."
Dorsey said his "biggest mistake" as Twitter CEO was investing in "building tools for us to manage the public conversation" instead of "building tools for the people using Twitter to easily manage it for themselves," saying that "burdened the company with too much power" and "opened us to significant outside pressure."
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey breaks his silence on the "Twitter Files" but avoids addressing specific revelations from the viral reporting of Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Regarding the permanent suspension of former President Trump, which has since been reversed by Musk, Dorsey maintains "we did the right thing for the public company business at the time, but the wrong thing for the internet and society."
"I continue to believe there was no ill intent or hidden agendas, and everyone acted according to the best information we had at the time," Dorsey wrote. "Of course mistakes were made. But if we had focused more on tools for the people using the service rather than tools for us, and moved much faster towards absolute transparency, we probably wouldn’t be in this situation of needing a fresh reset (which I am supportive of). Again, I own all of this and our actions, and all I can do is work to make it right."
He went on to denounce efforts by the government and large corporations "to shape and control the public conversation" and that authors of tweets should be the only ones to delete their own posts.
"I do still wish for Twitter, and every company, to become uncomfortably transparent in all their actions, and I wish I forced more of that years ago. I do believe absolute transparency builds trust," Dorsey wrote. "As for the files, I wish they were released Wikileaks-style, with many more eyes and interpretations to consider. And along with that, commitments of transparency for present and future actions. I’m hopeful all of this will happen. There’s nothing to hide… only a lot to learn from. The current attacks on my former colleagues could be dangerous and doesn’t solve anything. If you want to blame, direct it at me and my actions, or lack thereof."
Dorsey refrained from addressing any of the specific revelations that were reported by independent journalists Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss. However, Twitter's censorship efforts as Weiss outlined last week appear to directly contradict what Dorsey told lawmakers under oath in a 2018 congressional hearing.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies before Congress in 2018. (Reuters/ Chris Wattie/File Photo)
In an exchange with Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Penn, Dorsey was asked point-blank whether Twitter "censors" its users.
"I want to read a few quotes about Twitter's practices and I just want you to tell me if they're true or not," Doyle began the exchange. "Social media is being rigged to censor conservatives. Is that true of Twitter?"
"No," Dorsey responded.
"Are you censoring people?" Doyle asked next.
"No," Dorsey answered.
"Twitter's shadow-banning prominent Republicans... is that true?" Doyle followed.
"No," Dorsey said.
Reporting from Weiss suggests the opposite.
"A new #TwitterFiles investigation reveals that teams of Twitter employees build blacklists, prevent disfavored tweets from trending, and actively limit the visibility of entire accounts or even trending topics—all in secret, without informing users," Weiss began her thread Thursday.
Weiss pointed to Stanford University's Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a longstanding opponent of COVID groupthink during the pandemic who expressed opposition to lockdowns.
"Twitter secretly placed him on a 'Trends Blacklist,' which prevented his tweets from trending," Weiss reported.
Bari Weiss, editor of The Free Press and host of "Honestly" podcast speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 3, 2022. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
The Free Press editor reported that Fox News host Dan Bongino was placed on a "Search Blacklist" and Twitter had Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk on "Do Not Amplify."
Weiss revealed that "shadow-banning," a term described to secretly suppressing the presence of Twitter users without their knowledge, was referred to by Twitter executives and employees as "Visibility Filtering" or "VF."
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Internal communications also reveal Twitter staffers admitting that the popular account Libs of TikTok never violated its "hateful conduct" policy despite being punished several times for allegedly doing so.
There are growing calls by GOP lawmakers, who will take control of the House of Representatives next month, to bring current and former Twitter staffers, including Dorsey, to testify about the censorship efforts that transpired at the tech giant before Musk's takeover.
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